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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952073">too many people, not enough space, and no rest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leafspeaks/pseuds/Leafspeaks'>Leafspeaks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Claustrophobia, Fever, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Han Jisung | Han, Mentioned Hwang Hyunjin, Panic, Panic Attacks, Sick Character, Sickfic, Vomiting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:22:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952073</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leafspeaks/pseuds/Leafspeaks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>having overworked himself for far too long, chan finds that he gets overwhelmed in a crowd much more easily than he normally would.  minho is not surprised by this.</p><p>cw: graphic depictions of vomit, anxiety, panic attacks, claustrophobia</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bang Chan &amp; Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>too many people, not enough space, and no rest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was <a href="https://pips-fics.tumblr.com/post/627481750848913408/just-discovered-your-fics-im-missing-chan">from a request i got on tumblr</a>!  feel free to <a href="https://pips-fics.tumblr.com/ask">send me more asks</a> if you'd like something specific written! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>chan had been overworking himself for weeks, and it was catching up to him.  all the members had begun checking in on him regularly - felix making sure he’d eaten at least one meal in the past 24 hours, jisung making sure his water bottle hadn’t been empty for too long.  seungmin helped make sure he got to his appointments on time.  hyunjin brought him snacks whenever he went to the dance studio and jeongin often brought him hot chocolate in the early morning hours, when he was inevitably still awake, working on tracks in the office.  changbin had developed a habit of attempting to force chan to bed earlier than that, usually finding him at around 3 am and on the verge of passing out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>chan thought he was managing alright.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>when he started to feel sick, he knew it was from lack of sleep, so he ignored it and pushed forward.  this meant spending the morning retching unproductively into the toilet and then eating a full lunch not long after.  they had a free day after their fan meeting, so if he needed rest, he could get it then.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>the fan meeting was… more difficult to get through than chan had expected.  his head started pounding about halfway through, and focusing on fan’s faces became a real struggle.  he was surprised to find himself relieved when it was over.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>as they shuffled out of the meeting room, chan grabbed minho’s shirt sleeve without thinking.  in an instant, minho spun around, and chan let go - he wasn’t sure why he’d done that in the first place, other than a vague but powerful fear that he’d somehow be left behind.  but minho seemed, somehow, to understand something that chan did not, even without words.  he dropped back a bit, letting chan walk slightly in front of him so that minho could place a hand on chan’s back.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>for a moment, chan felt his heart’s erratic beating slow.  and then, as they stepped out into the main foyer of the mall, chaos broke loose.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>there were <em>so </em>many people.  chan got jostled and, feeling weak already, was carried towards the center of it all.  it was all noise and sweat and a sort of unintentional violence caused by the large mass of people.  it was fear and powerlessness and sheer exhaustion - a headache and a too-fast, too-loud heartbeat, shaking hands and not enough oxygen to go around.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>he felt like a kid lost in a mall.  chan had done that once - it hadn’t been horrible actually, since he’d been lucky and cute enough to find someone to help.  getting swept up like this, he felt as lost and uncertain and small as he’d been back then, except now he also found he couldn’t breathe at all.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>——</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>after he’d lost chan to the crowd, minho spent a stunned half-second cursing himself out for being so careless.  then he started making use of his elbows and made his way into the mass of bodies before him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>he wasn’t gentle, exactly, but he got the job done.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>he found chan somewhat near the center of the crowd, eyes wide, breathing heavy.  minho snarled at the people surrounding chan, crowding him in even more with every second, completely ignorant that he was having a full blown panic attack.  “move!”  minho growled, and people ebbed slightly away, very briefly.  it was enough.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>he grabbed ahold of chan’s arm, wincing as the older boy startled, but not letting go.  upon recognizing him, chan’s eyes filled with tears and his knees gave out.  minho hoisted him back up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“we need to get out of here!”  minho shouted, trying not to worry too much over how badly chan was shaking.  he glanced around, looking for the closest exit.  he saw their manager with a few of the others, but they were further away than minho was hoping.  he spun, and saw a small, relatively empty hallway, about 10 feet away.  that was their best shot.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“we should— oh, no,” minho grimaced.  when he looked back at chan, his skin was ashen and he had a hand clamped over his mouth.  “hyung!  can you walk?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>looking far from certain, chan nodded.  minho adjusted his grip to chan’s wrist instead of his arm, and tugged the older boy behind him.  he looked back to check on chan often, and caught him gagging a few times, and pushed people out of his way with a bit more force.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>as soon as they make it to the hallway that minho had identified as their escape, chan falls to his hands and knees, throwing up.  the few people nearby scatter, and as he rubs chan’s back, minho silently wishes luck to anyone who enters the crowd.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>it takes the better part of 5 minutes for chan to empty his stomach, and there’s a sizable mess when he’s done.  minho helps him stand on shaky legs and guides chan to a bathroom to let him clean up a bit and rinse out his mouth.  as he does so, minho puts the back of his hand to chan’s forehead.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“fever,” he comments.  chan makes a strangled noise, and for a second minho thinks he’ll be sick again.  but no, it turns out he’s just offended by facts.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“‘m not sick,” chan protests.  “claustrophobic.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>minho rolls his eyes.  “yes, that too, i think.  but you’re also sick and need to spend the rest of today <em>and tomorrow</em> resting.  you’ve been working too much recently.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>chan makes a valiant attempt at a scowl, but with his sweaty hair and plain-to-see exhaustion, he looks, at best, like a wet puppy begging to be let inside.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“let’s go outside and get some fresh air while we wait for the others, yeah?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>suddenly chan’s eyes widen and he nearly sprints out of the bathroom.  minho runs after him, catching his wrist just before he darts back into the crowd.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“are you crazy?  chan-hyung?  are you insane?  what the—”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“jisung— we have to— we have to find him, minho, let go!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>minho gives chan’s arm a good tug and grabs him by the shoulders once they’ve got some space between them and that terrifying, ever-growing mass of people.  “he’s fine,” minho says, panting.  “he’s with the others, i saw him earlier.  come on,  i’ll call hyunjin once we’re out and prove it to you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>chan looks skeptical, but the fight has drained out of him, and he lets minho lead him to the doors.  it’s a very nice day, fortunately, and they find a grassy place under a tree to rest.  minho, as promised, calls hyunjin, who passes the phone to jisung, who is, unsurprisingly, just fine, as he assures both chan and minho on speaker phone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>after that, minho takes the phone back to share details on their location with their manager and chat with a few of the members very briefly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“hyunjin said there’s some big sale or something - i don’t know,” minho reports after hanging up.  “they’re going to bring the car around and meet us here.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>chan doesn’t respond and minho glances at him to find that he’s already drifted into sleep.  minho feels something uncomfortable swirl in his chest - a mixture of relief, and fear, and frustration, and something else.  gratitude, maybe.  chan does so much for the rest of them, and minho can only scratch the surface of paying it back - but he will gladly play watchdog until they can get chan home, safe and sound.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i know that leaving comments can be stressful and difficult for a million different reasons, so here are some short, copy-and-paste comments which are 110% acceptable to use if you'd like to provide me with some encouragement, but don't have the time or energy to come up with your own:</p><p>1) "Just read this for a second time!”<br/>2) “I loved this!”<br/>2) “&lt;3″<br/>4) “This was great!”<br/>5) “One of my favorites!”<br/>6) “Extra kudos!”<br/>7) Reply to another comment with “all of this!″ or “+1″<br/>8) “Will definitely recommend this!”<br/>9) “This was my favorite part: [paste quote]”<br/>10) “Thanks for writing this!”</p><p>still don't want to leave a comment? no worries! i hope you enjoyed the story nonetheless!</p><p>if you'd like to see me write something else, feel free to send requests!  you can also send me mail <a href="https://pips-fics.tumblr.com/ask">through my tumblr account</a> :)</p><p>if you don't mind taking a minute, feel free too fill out my anonymous reader survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7CRYLPT">here</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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